Massage is one of the oldest forms of medicine in the World. It is believed that it was first practiced and passed on in a structured way about 5000 years ago in China and Mesopotamia. Well known to the physicians of ancient Greece, Hippocrates wrote in the 5th century B.C. that "the way to health is a aromatic bath and a scented massage every day. " He defined medicine as " the art of rubbing".

Massage was very popular in the mid-1800s throughout Europe and the USA; the "Swedish Movement Cure" is well documented in a number of books that were published around that time. Massage disappeared from the western medical world around the time of the pharmaceutical revolution in the 1940s. Never having lost its popularity as a great form of treatment in the East, it has only been in the recent years that massage has become re-established as health care profession in the West. Today the western medical profession is recognizing massage therapy as a valuable form of treatment and is conducting scientific studies to prove its benefits.

One example is a study conducted by Beth Israel-Deaconess Center for Alternative Medicine Research and Education, and the Center for Health Studies in Seattle which concluded that therapeutic massage is an effective treatment for providing long-lasting benefits for patients suffering from chronic low back pain.

According to another study conducted at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, massage therapy reduces pain and muscle spasms in patients who have undergone heart bypass surgery.

With the more science based approach, massage has also gotten a few new names: Restorative Bodywork and Pain Relieving Therapies are amongst the terms used to describe the rehabilitative modalities that can be found today.

Whatever the name, countless styles of massage are practiced through out the world bringing people great relief from pain and discomfort. Here are the modalities available at the Emeryville Health and Wellness Center: